The British Government is to rapidly expand its research programme into the effects of mobile phone use by funding a multi-million-pound research project, following yesterday's publication of a report recommending children should be discouraged from excessive mobile phone use.
The director of research and development at the National Health Service, Prof Sir John Pattison, and the Chief Medical Officer, Prof Liam Donaldson, have been asked by the government to draw up a research strategy spanning several years that will look into the possible health effects of mobile phone use.
The announcement came after the publication of the Stewart Report into mobile phone use, which concluded that while the balance of evidence did not suggest emissions from mobile phones put public health at risk, mobile phone users should adopt a "precautionary principle" until more research has been carried out. The government has accepted many of the report's recommendations.
Launching the report, Sir William Stewart, chairman of Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust and head of the inquiry into mobile phone use, said parents should be made aware of all the available facts concerning mobile phones. Moreover, parents should make an informed choice on the extent to which they should be available to children, whose use of mobile phones has dramatically increased in recent years. About one in four of the UK's 24 million mobile-phone users is under 18 years old.
Admitting that when his two grandchildren were older he would not recommend allowing them "unfettered use" of mobile phones, Sir William said there was evidence that in a few instances biological effects, such as heating of the brain, had been identified. But it was stressed that did not necessarily mean health was affected.
There were benefits in allowing children access to mobile phones, especially if they were out late at night, but the younger the child the more care should be taken about allowing them to use mobile phones. "The shortest time that a child needs for essential calls - that is the amount of time it should use," Sir William said.
If direct health effects from mobile phone use can be identified, children in particular are considered to be at risk because their nervous systems are still developing and because of the smaller size of the skull there could be greater absorption of the low level microwaves emitted by mobile phones.
However, while mobile phone companies welcomed the report, the National Family and Parenting Institute said parents would be disappointed because they had not been given clear advice about use and parents might still be confused about the extent of the risk.
Among the report's other conclusions it recommended stricter controls on the location of mobile phone base stations and masts. The balance of evidence indicated there was no general risk to health by living close to base stations, but in some cases there could be indirect adverse affects on well-being. However, further development of existing base stations should be prohibited and the report recommended the government establish a national database giving details of all base stations and their emissions.
The full report can be found at www.iegmp.org.uk